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6 Great Tams Shows For Christmas

It’s late August, so obviously it’s time to start thinking about… Christmas!!

Christmas in August may sound ridiculous, but many schools and theatres are already planning their holiday season. Well, we’re here to help! Tams-Witmark offers plenty of holiday shows that’d be perfect for your December production, so here’s a bit of seasonal inspiration…

Charles Schulz’s beloved Peanuts characters come to life in this live stage adaptation of the classic animated TV special. As Snoopy, Lucy, and Sally all buy into the commercialism of the season, Charlie Brown yearns for a glimmer of sincerity. Linus and one tiny but sincere tree help Charlie Brown discover the true Spirit of Christmas.

Vince Guaraldi’s iconic, jazzy score features the unforgettable Peanuts dance groove called “Linus and Lucy,” The whole show ends with a holiday sing-along, including “Hark The Herald Angels Sing.” But the loveliest holiday tune is the opening song, “Christmas Time Is Here.”

Christmas time is here,
Happiness and cheer.
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of year.

Snowflakes in the air,
Carols everywhere,
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share.

Sleigh bells in the air,
Beauty everywhere,
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there.

Christmas time is here,
Families growing near.
Oh that we could always see
Such spirit through the year.

This blockbuster musicalization of Auntie Mame features one of the most famous Christmas songs of all time: When the stock market crash takes its toll on Auntie Mame and young Patrick, Mame declares “We Need A Little Christmas,” and the entire household joins in celebration. Jerry Herman’s holiday classic has been recorded hundreds of times, by artists including original “Mame” Angela Lansbury, plus Johnny Mathis, Percy Faith, and The Muppets.

Haul out the holly;
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.
Fill up the stocking,
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now.

For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.
…We need a little Christmas now!

The Little Sisters of Hoboken are back! They’ve gathered in the studios of WCON-TV Hoboken – formerly known as Mt. Saint Helen’s Convent Basement – to tape their brand-new Christmas TV Special, which features songs like “Santa’s Little Teapot,” “Twelve Days Prior To Christmas,” and “Santa Ain’t Comin’ To Our House.” Dan Goggin’s hilarious holiday tuner, featuring the show biz-loving sisters and a slightly tipsy Father Virgil, will keep everyone’s Christmas merry and bright. After all, “Christmas Time Is Nunsense Time!”

Christmas time is Nunsense time
At Mount Saint Helen’s School.
Christmas time is fun-sense time
When joy is the rule!

It’s time when herald angels sing,
And jingle bells begin to ring.
Time when all good kids are wond’ring
What will Santa bring?

Feel the spirit, heed the call.
Forget your troubles, have a ball.
Nunsense is for one and all!

This 1956 romantic comedy was originally written in French and then translated to English for its hit West End and Broadway runs. Nestor, a poor Parisian law student, falls for “Sweet Irma,” a successful call girl, and assumes the disguise of a wealthy older gentleman to win her over. After plenty of crazy antics, the story concludes during the holiday season. A baby is born on Christmas day, leading the ensemble to sing this lovely ballad:

Fortune smiles on the Christmas Child Who is born in the joyful season. Stars will shine for the Christmas Child They will guide him in love and reason.

He will walk with his head held high Yet be gentle and yet be shy. He will do what he wants to do. He will find every wish come true.

While he sleeps in the sweet one’s bed, Sweet the thoughts in his tiny head. Heaven blessed him and fortune smiled… Drink the health of the Christmas Child.

A musical adaptation of Billy Wilder’s The Apartment, PROMISES, PROMISES features a groove-tastic score from Burt Bacharach and Hal David. (“I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,” recorded by Dionne Warwick, reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts.) The musical romantic dramedy is set in the corporate world during the holiday season—in fact, all of Act Two takes place on Christmas Eve. At the big office party, three secretaries put on a little show and sing “Turkey Lurkey Time.” (In the original Broadway production, Michael Bennet’s choreography stopped the show, featuring Donna McKechnie, Baayork Lee and Margo Sappington.)

It’s Turkey Lurkey Time…
Tom Turkey ran away but he just came home.
It’s Turkey Lurkey Time…
He’s really come to stay, never more to roam!

Let us make a wish And may all our wishes come true!

A snowy, blowy Christmas,
A mistletoe-y Christmas,
A turkey Lurkey Christmas to you!

PROMISES, PROMISES also features a hilarious duet between two tipsy, lonely souls who meet at a bar on Christmas Eve: “A Fact Can Be A Beautiful Thing.”

Because it’s Christmas,
Not a time to be alone with memories.
Christmas,
It’s supposed to be a happy holiday.
Throw a little joy my way.

This charming classic about a middle-class family and the 1904 World’s Fair boasts several hits by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, including “The Trolley Song” and “The Boy Next Door.” But one song stands out above all the others. Considered by many to be the greatest of all Christmas songs, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” was first sung by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM feature film.

Interestingly, Hugh Martin originally wrote a much darker lyric to the song: “Have yourself a merry little Christmas / It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past.” Yikes! Fortunately, he was talked into making the song more hopeful, and the final MGM version was much more optimistic. When Frank Sinatra recorded the song years later, he convinced Martin to sweeten the tone still further, changing the “muddle through” line to “hang a shining star upon the highest bough.” The Broadway production returned to the MGM lyrics, with one minor alteration.

Here’s the lyric as it’s sung in our licensed stage version:

Have yourself a merry little Christmas.Let your heart be light.Next year all our troubles will be out of sight.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas.Make the yuletide gay.Next year all our troubles will be miles away.

Once again as in olden days,Happy golden days of yore,Faithful friends who were dear to usWill be near to us once more.

Someday soon we all will be together,Should the Lord allow.Until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow.So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

Richard Adler, co-composer/lyricist of Broadway hits like DAMN YANKEES and THE PAJAMA GAME, created this musical version of O. Henry’s short story for a 1958 telecast. Sally Anne Howes (then married to Mr. Adler) and Allen Case starred, with Eli Wallach featured as the narrator. Set in 1905, O. Henry’s tale is considered a classic of “comic irony.” When newlyweds John and Della face hard times, they each make a sacrifice to provide the other with a special Christmas gift. Their sacrifices render the gifts useless, and they are left with nothing more than their love for one another.

The stage musical is a full-length adaptation in two acts, featuring the newlyweds and a flexible ensemble of supporting roles. Both festive and poignant, THE GIFT OF THE MAGI is ideal for community theaters. Richard Adler’s score is tuneful and warm, and includes this holiday gem, “Christmas In Your Heart.”

Though there are no chestnuts. I smell chestnuts in the air. Though there are no sleigh bells, I hear sleigh bells everywhere.

When there’s Christmas in your heart, The world is beautiful, so beautiful! Even if there’s no snow at all, Close your eyes nice and tight, Start to wish with all your might, And you’ll find, to your delight, snow will fall.

When there’s Christmas in your heart, You’ve found a brand-new gift, a brand-new lift! And don’t you lose that glow whatever you do! Let Christmas Eve give you your start, And keep that Christmas in your heart The whole year through.

Victor Herbert’s operetta weaves together characters and themes from the Mother Goose nursery rhymes to create a spectacular, Christmas-themed musical extravaganza. The show first opened on Broadway in 1903, and had four separate Broadway runs, each adapted to highlight the talents of its particular stars. In 1934, Laurel and Hardy appeared in a significantly reworked film adaptation of the stage musical, which featured only a handful of the songs. That movie, later reissued as March of the Wooden Soldiers, was eventually colorized and became a holiday television perennial.

Laurel & Hardy in the 1934 film BABES IN TOYLAND, later renamed MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS

In the Laurel & Hardy film, Stan and Ollie work for Santa Claus, but Stan mixes up an order and builds 100 wooden soldiers at six feet tall instead of 600 soldiers at one foot tall. No matter the reason, both the stage version and film adaptation feature an army of marching soldiers. The score contains many of Victor Herbert’s most beloved songs, including “Toyland,” “March of the Toys,” and “Go to Sleep, Slumber Deep.” The show also features a celebratory tune called “Hail To Christmas.”
Hail to Christmas, joyous Christmas
Be gay; the day draws near!
Hail to Christmas, joyous Christmas
Be gay; the day draws near!

Now Kris Kringle, dear Kris Kringle Will bring our King to be! Now Kris Kringle, dear Kris Kringle Will bring our King to be!

On behalf of everyone at Tams-Witmark Music Library, Merry Christmas to all!(And a Happy Labor Day!)